Our Core Team

Isabella Dobrescu, PhD

Studio Head, Founder

Isabella is Associate Professor at the UNSW School of Business. She is an experienced researcher and has received many awards for teaching excellence. She is renowned for her ageing and maths research, which covers computational economics, statistical analysis, and experimental design. She has over 9 years of experience in gameplay and the use of gamification as a platform for teaching.

Alberto Motta, PhD

Creative Director, Founder

Alberto is Associate Professor at the UNSW School of Business. He has taught Micro 1 to 9,000+ students and won many awards, including UNSW’s highest teaching excellence award (Heinz Harant). He was also the 1st recipient of ASB students choice award, and went on winning it again in 2015. He is an expert in economic theory, experimental design, and programming. Playconomics is the result of 9+ years of research on using gamification to boost student engagement.

Steven Ogden

Producer, Senior Software Developer

Steven is an innovative games engineer with 7+ years of experience in software development via multi-platform environments, primarily using C++. Offering a vast systems design expertise and excellent problem solving skills, his detailed research and responsive solutions contribute to the full life cycle of his applications and deliver relevant, cutting edge software.

Timothy Johnson, PhD

Senior Software Developer

Timothy is a prodigious games developer who graduated from La Trobe University with his PhD in Computer Science in 2014. His thesis, titled “Agent Simulations on Graphics Hardware”, explores the possibility of using a GPU for large-scale agent-based simulations. He now applies his knowledge of agent systems, as well as his previous experience in creating educational games, to the development of Playconomics and all related projects.

Christian Martinez

Senior Artist

Christian is an experienced computer game designer and graphic artist with more than 15 years’ experience. He has heavily contributed to the success of acclaimed titles such as the Bioshock series (Bioshock, Bioshock 2 and Bioshock Infinite). As well as seeing through the full development of these titles, Christian has played a senior role in various pitches and early development, bringing raw ideas to life.

Richard Antecki

Senior (Back-End) Software Engineer

Richard is an enthusiastic software developer with a background in Computer Science and Finance and over 14 years experience across a range of technologies, platforms, roles and industries. He has a passion for finding elegant solutions to problems and loves learning new things and getting thrown in the deep end (which LionsHeart provides in spades).

Aleksa Bozic

Early-Mid Software Developer

Aleksa graduated from University of Technology Sydney with a BSc in Games Development. He is a highly passionate programmer, expert at identify and fixing problems. As his Unity and C# XNA games show, he is someone always pushing for advanced technology and functionality even when required to go above and beyond to develop such features.

Daniel Schofield

Quality Assurance Manager, Game Developer

Daniel is a Mobile Application Development graduate from the Academy of Information Technology. With his expertise at the intersection of emerging mobile and web technologies, he has taken a leadership role in building game UI and various websites. His focus on mobile technology will usher the next LionsHeart platform into the future of educational gaming.